DETROIT -- The fly ball from Guardians leadoff hitter Daniel Schneemann hung in the air for five seconds, according to Statcast. It only felt like five minutes.
Considering where Casey Mize’s splitter had wandered over the plate, Schneemann could’ve hit it harder, maybe crushed it to left. But for what the Guardians needed, his fly ball towards the right-field line fit perfectly. The Tigers were playing him to pull, with right fielder Wenceel Pérez shaded towards center.
From where Pérez started, he would’ve needed to cover 113 feet to get to Schneemann’s ball. His sprint speed of 29.4 feet per second chasing down the ball was well above his season average of 28.1. He still had no play as the ball fell.
Thus, a ball with a two percent hit probability according to Statcast -- which does not take outfield positioning into account -- became an RBI double off Casey Mize and another Detroit deficit.
It was that kind of game for the Tigers, a 3-1 loss Thursday at Comerica Park that didn’t feel that close. It was that kind of series. And as they headed out of town for a three-game series in Baltimore, their 9 1/2-game deficit in the AL Central had to feel like that gap Pérez tried to close on that Schneemann ball.
But the Tigers can’t worry about that at this point. They need to get back to playing better baseball again.
“The results speak for themselves,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I mean, it was tough. Obviously, the series on the whole, there are a lot of games to win within a four-game series. We won zero. You look at execution, you look at the timeliness of when things happen, coming up big in a big spot, I mean, they won every aspect. They're a tough team for sure, a lot of respect for what they're doing, but there were some winnable games if we could just find a way to scratch something across and feel better at the end of the day.”
The last time the Tigers were swept by Cleveland in a four-game series, July 15-18, 2019, they were in the midst of a 114-loss season that included a 1-18 record against Cleveland. The last time they lost a four-game series to Cleveland at Comerica Park, Sept. 1-3, 2017, they were playing their first series since the Justin Verlander trade to Houston that essentially marked the start of the Tigers rebuild.
This is not those teams. The Tigers, even in their current injury-plagued state, are coming off back-to-back runs to within a game of an ALCS berth. They opened the season with back-to-back wins in San Diego, and had a winning record as recently as May 3. They’re now 11 games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 23, 2023, when they headed into the final week of the season preparing for Miguel Cabrera’s final games as a player rather than a postseason berth. They now also sit alone in the division cellar, their first time sitting in last place this far into a season since September 2022.
They still have time to get back into the division race, let alone the Wild Card. With just five American League teams sitting over .500 as of Thursday afternoon, opportunities abound. But the way they were outplayed this series reflects some of the issues they have to correct to beat anybody, not just the Guardians:
Run production
The Tigers made Guardians starter Joey Cantillo throw 32 pitches in the opening inning, but got nothing to show for it, leaving the bases loaded when Spencer Torkelson flew out to right on the first pitch he saw. Cantillo needed just 66 pitches for his next 14 outs, allowing just two walks and a Zack Short groundball single.
“Baseball is funny, where it’s just a small little thing one way or the other that plays out big over the course of the game,” Hinch said. “And right now we’re wearing it, because we’re either not creating it or not getting a break. Either way, it’s a bad feeling.”
The Tigers batted 3-for-34 with runners in scoring position over their seven-game homestand, including 1-for-24 following Torkelson’s walkoff hit last Friday against the Blue Jays. They’re getting little production from the bottom half of their lineup, partly due to injuries.
Baserunning
The aggressive baserunning that marked the Tigers’ late-season run to the playoffs in 2024 and carried into last season has turned into mistake-prone running. While the Guardians manufactured runs all series with sacrifice bunts, fly balls and timely extra bases, the Tigers lost a runner in Wednesday’s loss when Zach McKinstry was picked off second base ahead of what would’ve been a Jake Rogers sac bunt opportunity.
Hao-Yu Lee was thrown out Wednesday trying to stretch a bloop hit in shallow left field into a double. He was nearly picked off at first base on Tuesday before Austin Hedges’ throw went into right field for a run-scoring error. Hedges picked off Riley Greene on first base in Monday’s series opener.
“Obviously when things don’t go well, you end up having these mistakes, whether it’s in judgment or trying to do too much,” Hinch said.
Bullpen
Will Vest’s return from the injured list restored some much-needed depth despite his blown save Wednesday. But Tyler Holton’s struggles are a major issue. He took two of the four losses in the series, and three of the six losses on the homestand. He has allowed earned runs in three of his last four outings. He’s allowing a high average to both left-handed hitters (.302) and righties (.306), and he hasn’t pitched in a win since May 3.
Holton is a critical part of Hinch’s bullpen mix, especially with Brant Hurter serving more as a middle relief lefty.
“We’ve leaned on Holton a lot to pitch in a variety of roles and do a lot of different things,” Hinch said.